The Eclectic Review

The Eclectic Review was a British periodical published monthly during the first half of the 19th century aimed at highly literate readers of all classes. Published between 1805 and 1868, it reviewed books in many fields, including literature, history, theology, politics, science, art, and philosophy. The Eclectic paid special attention to literature, reviewing major new Romantic writers such as William Wordsworth and Lord Byron as well as emerging Victorian novelists such as Charles Dickens. Unlike their fellow publications, however, they also paid attention to American literature, seriously reviewing the works of writers such as Washington Irving.

Although the Eclectic was founded by Dissenters, it adhered to a strict code of non-denominationalism; however, its religious background may have contributed to its serious intellectual tone. Initially modeled on 18th-century periodicals, the Eclectic adapted early to the competitive periodical market of the early 19th century, changing its style to include longer, more evaluative reviews. It remained a generally successful periodical for most of its run.

The editing history of the Eclectic can be divided into four periods: the first is dominated by co-founder Daniel Parken, who helped establish the popularity of the periodical; after Parken's death, Josiah Conder, after purchasing the periodical, edited it from 1813 until 1836, during years of financial hardship; from 1837 to 1855, Thomas Price edited the periodical, returning it to its popularity and success; in its final years, several people served as managing editor and the Eclectic had some of its best years. Although few of the contributors of the Eclectic remain famous today, such as the poet James Montgomery, many of them were well-known academics or reformers of the time, such as the abolitionist George Thompson and the theological scholar Adam Clarke.

Modeled on 18th-century periodicals such as the Monthly Review and The Critical Review, issues of the Eclectic Review typically included several long reviews in addition to many short notices. Its long reviews included both "review articles", which reviewed several books on the same subject, and "review essays", which used a single book as a way to begin discussing a larger subject of interest. However, unlike its 18th-century models, the Eclectic was able to successfully compete in the early 19th-century market, with the Edinburgh Review, the Quarterly Review, and the Westminster Review. As James Basker explains in his short history of the Eclectic, the Edinburgh Review was its "most illustrious and its most antagonistic rival", and like it, the Eclectic "offered sophisticated criticism that moved almost completely away from the old-fashioned techniques of quotation and abstract toward a genuine critical evaluation of books and their significance in the broader contexts both of the author's canon and of their formal or intellectual tradition". Basker writes that "the Eclectic grew to become what is now a massive and invaluable archive of the literary and intellectual history of the nineteenth century".

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